Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Serbia

As we approach the Great Fast, I expect my posting to be less frequent. I will of course continue to monitor comments and check email. In the meantime let us all pray for the faithful in Europe, especially Serbian Kosovo which has been ceded by the EU and NATO to the Saracens. It has been a long time since I have been so appalled by the actions of my own government. Why they would support the creation of a Muslim country with known ties to Iran and various radical Islamic groups in the heart of Europe is beyond me.

The Serbs would be well justified in expressing their resentment at those entities which have aided the dismembering of their country. Sharply reducing their diplomatic representations with the EU and the United States (already done) is a good first step. They could also make it clear that they consider NATO to be an unfriendly power and one that is a threat to their sovereignty by signing a mutual defense treaty with Russia. If they really want to tick the US off they could invite the Russians to build an air force base somewhere in Serbia.

8 comments:

I like the idea of some sort of missle air defense system for Russia in Serbia, smoke that George Bush, and I hope Vlady takes some very strong action against Albania, which just annexed Kosovo illegally. Some under-handed Russian justice would be nice when the terror starts again on Serbia by its Muslim "neighbor-naroco-state".Thank God, Russia is a check on the United States and its neo-con imperialism - there must be a balance of power, this notion that the U.S. is the only "super-power" is foolish in the extreme and exceedingly prideful.Good thing Great Lent is just around the corner, I am so upset I could just spit.

Mary,Albania did not annex Kosovo; rather Kosovo declared itself to be an independent republic. I pray that a workable solution to religious toleration can be worked out. Perhaps that will be the manner in which the Orthodox Serbian people can reclaim their historic and religious Patrimony. May God protect all the Orthodox Christian people in the Balkans.

I don't quite understand the anger over this move by Kosovo. Granted, I don't know much of the history of this region and the politics leading up to this, and I'm quite new to Orthodoxy, but I was under the impression that the reason some nations supported this move was at least partly because of the harsh treatment of the Muslims by the Serbian government in past years. Didn't the Serbian President Milosevich crack down on ethnic Albanians, killing possibly 10,000 or more? I would imagine that the Muslims would be equally -- and justifiably so -- upset at this treatment.

What am I missing about this that has Orthodox Christians around the world so upset? I do understand the concern over the potential for future persecution of Orthodox in Kosovo. But beyond that, is there more that I don't know about?

Kevin,Kosovo has a thousand years of history linking it to the Serbs. It is pretty much sacred ground to them. I would encourage you to do a little research on ths subject. Serbia has been on the front line of the war that the Mohammadens have been waging against Europe for centuries. There is a lot of history here.

Please understand that the idea of "Greater Albania" is still there and will affect Macedonia and other border nations. What have become known as "ethnic Albanians" have immigrated to these border states in great numbers too. Look up The "green corridor" and "greater Albania," there is an ultimate agenda, and independence for Kosovo is just one part of it. Albania is awash with Saudi oil money and Wahhabism, the Saudis even stipend each family that converts to Wahhbism and goes to those mosques. This is about Islam & former Ottoman "glory." The jihad continues. Our government chose the wrong side, as they often do. Believe me I have read more than I should on the issue, ignorance is/would be bliss.

The notion of a "Greater Albania" is absurd. Even more absurd is the notion of this "Greater Albania" as a militant Islamic state.

There are two kinds of Albanians - Tosks and Ghegs. The Tosks are southern Albanians, who were traditionally Orthodox. The Ghegs are northern Albanians, who were traditionally Catholic. The state of Albania is dominated by Tosks, while Kosovo is populated entirely by Ghegs. The Tosk majority in Albania would be wary of annexing so many Ghegs and losing their majority in Albania. Moreover, the Kosovars have no tradition of being ruled from Tirana. There is no move afoot to initiate anschluss of Kosovo with Albania.

A Vatican spokesman announced this week that the Catholic Church plans to begin a missionary effort to re-convert the Kosovar Albanians to Catholicism. It could be relatively easy. Many Ghegs maintain two last names - an official Muslim name and an unofficial Catholic name. They can all tell you how many generations ago their ancestors converted to Islam under Ottoman pressure - except the 3% in Kosovo who remained Catholic, despite pressure from both Turks and Serbs.

Albanian Islam was always superficial and not very Orthodox. The Bektashi sect of Islam, whose members venerate Christian icons and do other not-so-Islamic things, is quite popular in Albania.

My Albanian colleague comes from a nominally Muslim family. He has never set foot in a mosque, but as a child he regularly attended services at the local Orthodox cathedral until it was closed by the communists (who at that time were aligned with China and decided to implement their own Cultural Revolution). Today, the Albanian Orthodox Church is being revived with the assistance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In 20 years, I predict that most Albanians will be baptized.

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